The joint Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) mission to locate Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E has been postponed to 2026. The Taraia Object Expedition, originally scheduled to depart from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 4, was delayed as the team awaits additional permit approvals from the Kiribati government and faces the onset of the South Pacific cyclone season. The planned mission aims to investigate a submerged anomaly in Nikumaroro Island’s lagoon that researchers believe could be the remains of Earhart’s aircraft.

The project, first announced in July, involves a 15-person crew equipped with sonar and magnetometers to confirm the identity of the “Taraia Object.” Members of the expedition suspect the object may

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